Seminars

LAHORE: (Tuesday, April 10, 2012): Renowned British politician and first Muslim and youngest member of British House of Lords Lord Nazir Ahmed has said that Pakistan needed evolution instead of revolution. He was speaking at a seminar on “International Scenario, Pakistan and our Responsibilities” organized by Directorate of Student Affairs at Faisal Auditorium here on Tuesday. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Director Students Affairs Chaudhry Iftikhar, senior faculty members and a big crowd of charged students attended the seminar.

Lord Nazir said Pakistan could become one of the best countries in the world as there were huge reservoirs of gold to coal and there was no lack of talent. But, he said, true leadership was required to achieve that goal. He said that the current year was full of challenges as elections were taking place in other important countries like the US and France while Viladimir Putin had gained power in the recent Russian polls. He said that the Western economies were touching their lowest in the last ten years and the US had gone under the debt of trillions of dollars. He said that when the conditions worsen, the responsibility had to be put on somebody’s shoulder and Iran was likely to be attacked by the US or Israel in order to get votes. The war, he said, was not only dangerous for the Western countries but Shia-Sunni disputes would also be fanned in the Muslim countries through conspiracy.

He said that we were in favour of denuclearization of the region but it should start with Israel. He said that if Iran was attacked, the Muslim nation should unite against these powers. He said that the US had fixed the head money of Hafiz Saeed purposively to keep Pakistan in defensive position. In reverse, he said, I announce 10 million dollars reward against Mr George W Bush. He said that he would collect the money whether he had to beg in the streets but Bush and Tony Blair should be charged with war crimes. He said that 43 militaries of powerful countries with all their might could not defeat Afghans who had no shoes to wear. If US President Obama is negotiating with them, then our president should also follow the suit, he added. He said that the president should invite Taliban, aggrieved Baloch in the mountains and us to President House for parleys. He said that the distance between super rich class and the poor was growing in Pakistan.

He criticized the rulers and said that if they didn’t fulfilled the demands of education, energy and food production, bloody riots would spread over the country and people would burn them on the streets, which May it not be so. He said that we talk of and value democracy in the West but in the cases of Greece and Italy, where on bad circumstances, the governments of technocrats were formed but we don’t quote these examples in Pakistan. He said that our challenge was to promote tolerance in society. He said that we needed to train our Ulemas who could promote the message of love and friendship and avoid hate in the society. He said that we would have to promote the culture of volunteerism in Pakistan. He advised the students that revolution in education sector could be staged if they spared a little time in a week to teach a boy. He said that Pakistanis were playing their role in the development of the United Kingdom and many Pakistanis and Muslims were working at key administrative positions in government sector, which should be considered a symbol of hope for the people in Pakistan. While praising Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, he said that he was not only Pakistan’s best Vice Chancellor but one of the best vices chancellors in the world. He said that through his efforts, Punjab University had not only become No 1 university in Pakistan but it had also been ranked in the 15 percent of best universities throughout the world in the latest study. He congratulated Dr Mujahid Kamran and his team for the achievement. In his presidential address, Dr Kamran said that Lord Nazir was the first Muslim who became the member of British House of Lords and entered the house with the Holy Quran in his hand as according to its tradition, every member was accompanied by Bible or he/she had to touch Bible while entering the house. He said that Lord Nazir responded non-Muslims with comprehensive arguments and courage on certain issues. Earlier, Director Students Affairs Chaudhry Iftikhar welcomed the guest and highlight the importance of the topic.